When Geeks Rule the Earth

     When I was growing up I used to hang out with a lot Punks and Skaters. One of the things which always impressed me was the way they dressed. A lot of their shirts had anti-social or anti-government slogans and expressions which they would carefully stitch or sew on themselves, and the creativity involved was so new to me and I found it absolutely fascinating. To express one’s individuality in ways that were outside of both the status quo and the normal merchandise medium really felt to me like some kind of pure underground movement of rebellion.

     These days, you can go to any Hot Topic and find pre-made shirts, pants, backpacks and any number or accessories which are, ironically, splayed over with anti-establishment catch-phrases and ideas. The idea that you can now walk into a corporate owned store and purchase anti-corporate, anti-government, or anti-social merchandise is both baffling and repugnant to me. What happened to the idea of individual expression? Where is the staunch refusal to buy into the mass consumerism and blind corporate obedience? Apparently, it’s for sale and hanging on a clothes rack.


     However, I’m not actually here to talk about the steady decline of the underground. I want to talk about the world of Geekdom. And how it means absolutely nothing anymore.
I’ve already said how I grew up hanging around with the more rebellious fringes of society, and while I did (and do) wholeheartedly embrace their love of the “Anti-”, I wouldn’t say that I quite fit in with their crowd. I was definitely socially awkward, but I expressed myself quite differently. You could usually find me with a book or a comic or with a video game.

     Being a nerd in the early 90’s was often a lonely experience. I don’t think I met more than five or six people in school who knew what Dragonlance was, or who had played a Final Fantasy game before FFVII. And don’t even get me started on trying to find someone who loved comic books as much as I did, or who collected them for reasons beyond trying to make money. The world of the geek/nerd (I use the terms interchangeably), while not as vocally or visually flamboyant as other outside groups, was still a universe filled with lonely nights and barely-contained mockery from those who embraced the “norm”.

     See, back then, when you were passionate about something, whether comics or music or disrupting the “system”, it was up to YOU to express that passion. And, to those not within your circle, you often looked like a complete weirdo while you did so. You spent hours talking about how badass Raistlin Majere was, or about how someday you were going to bring down all those “Suits” and their bland cloned lives, because to you and your close knit-circle it was genuinely exciting! You simply couldn’t contain how you felt about it. In other words, you “geeked out”. And your fellow geeks never looked at you askew as it happened…they were too busy geeking out right along with you.

     Today brings us a very different world. The world of the geek is literally everywhere. There are comic book movies, video games and…comics. Doctor Who lunchboxes and T.A.R.D.I.S. pens, mugs, costumes, phone covers and galore are available at even the tiniest of shops. You can’t walk anywhere without running into someone’s fandom popping out. Geeks have truly inherited the earth…or, at least it seems.

     The cracks in the walls of this fabled Nerdtopia first began to appear to me while watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory. Now, I do understand that quite a lot of critics (correctly, IMHO) dismiss this show as being faux-geek. However, as it’s intended audience is the nerd crowd, and the shows main characters all fit the stereotype, I find it useful for this discussion. In the episode I watched (the exact episode eludes me), Sheldon Cooper, the show’s anal-retentive “super geek”, was getting all gooey about some comic book characters and wanted to have an elaborate conversation about their merits in a battle. His supposed geeky friends, rather than joining in, instead mocked his keen interest and changed the subject to more “male-friendly”, normal conversation matter. Sheldon was defeated.

     Did you notice what has happened here? A group of people, often found wearing T-shirts with super-hero logos on them, and who obviously have the passion to pursue careers in the scientific fields of study…find passion-fueled conversations preposterous. How in the hell did that come about?

     I think I have an answer: because being labeled a “Geek” is more important than actually BEING a Geek. Knowing the correct fandoms, being versed in the plethora of references and recognizing them when in public, while also wearing as many garments and accessories and stickers of popular nerdy things has now trumped possessing the all-consuming fire of Passion. And that, my friends, is the very antithesis of geek culture. It is an exact parallel to what happened in Punk and Skater culture: the merchandising of a former fringe group, to bring in those who are actually part of the status quo/norm.

     Go to any coffee shop these days, and you’re bound to see a Captain America T-shirt or someone with a Sci-Fi TV-show-themed mug or other commodity. But what you’ll see much less frequently is a heated conversation about the shows or media behind the logos. More than likely, what you’ll see is the fervent giggling as someone points out the multitudinous displays from whichever particular fandom they also happen to enjoy. This entire movement has turned into a sort of Nerdy-Ouroboros: the only passion anymore is all about being a Geek…which itself is a term used to express passion about something else! I’m honestly surprised the world hasn’t imploded from the paradox. Doc Brown would not be amused.

     So, what am I trying to say by all this? Is it wrong to be obsessed with geeky/nerdy culture? I certainly don’t think so. My teenage-self beams every time I see one of my beloved superheroes up on the big screen. And, every time I’m reminded of just how prevalent Video-Game culture has become, I smile and thank the heavens that people are appreciating the medium for what it is, instead of relegating it to the toy section. However, with great obsession, comes great responsibility. We owe it to ourselves as Geeks and Nerds to make this name mean something! If we want to have a world where we can all be free to have as much love and passion for something without fear of judgment, then we need to actually HAVE that passion without fear of judgment, or without judging others for being so obviously in love with an idea or movement or fandom. Otherwise, using terms and labels is meaningless. Really, they already are meaningless, but that’s a discussion for another blog post.

     Go out and engage in the things you’re passionate about. Don’t be so obsessed with knowing when to give the expected nod to a subtle Doctor Who reference when it’s dropped; rather, talk about how amazing it would be to travel the universe in a T.A.R.D.I.S. or argue about which iteration of the Doctor you’d prefer to travel with, or why you think Spider-Man is much better than Batman or why the world of Dragonlance or Final Fantasy (any of them) would be such an amazing or horrible world to live in! Geek out! Dare to look goofy because you care so goddamn much about people and places and ideas that don’t actually exist in our grey, mundane world. THEN and only then, will Geeks have truly inherited the earth, my friends.
Now, go live long and prosper.

Why I Sort of Gave Up Fighting The Good Fight

 

     Many years ago, when I was in my early twenties, my life was pretty well sorted out. I simply knew I was going to become a Minister someday, teaching the Word of God to the faithful and reprobate alike. It was my daily joy to peruse the Bible and commentaries for hours on end, and then to ruminate on those delicious nuggets of truth and wisdom I had dug up from their hidden depths. People came to me for that wisdom and knowledge, and I would often pontificate and illuminate them as humbly as possible.

And then I got on the Internet.

    Due to various reasons I hadn’t really had an online presence for most of my young adult life. I was familiar with computers in a general way, but getting online was something I just didn’t have access to for quite a while. When it finally did happen, the natural first step for me was to find a way to use it as a means to continue on with my life’s passion of spreading the light of truth.

     So, I began browsing the Christian chatrooms and website forums. I found topics on all sorts of subjects, with people asking questions on what the Bible had to say about this or that thing. It was absolutely heaven for me. The fields, indeed, seemed fertile and ready for me to plant the seeds of truth, and I could do it all right from my desktop! But, what I found instead were grounds cold and hard and full of weeds.

     You see, the thing was, nobody wanted to hear what I had to say. Almost invariably, a poster would start a thread asking a question, usually about what the Bible had to say about, for example, tithing or speaking in tongues or even how to deal with unruly children; and so, quite normally, I posted responses based on what I had learned, backed up by scripture quotes and putting everything into a firm context that wasn’t cherry-picked. What happened next, again almost invariably, was absolutely astounding to me: they argued, discounted what I said and relegated my posts to the realm of opinions.

     Now, the thing about religion is that a lot of it is built upon subjective personal experiences. How you feel about God and His working in your life is something that no one can rightly judge but yourself. But, this changes when you’re reading a text. A text  is a text. What is written therein cannot be unwritten or unsaid. It’s there. For all to see. The CONTENT of a book is absolutely objective, although its meaning certainly isn’t.

     And this was my main area of frustration. Asking a person what the Bible says about an issue ought to be done with an understanding that the text itself is unequivocal. If I ask you, “What does the Bible say about killing?”, well, it says “Thou shalt not kill”. THAT is what it SAYS. Now, what does it mean? We could debate that all day. Does it mean wars are justifiable acts of homicide or are they also sin? It could be argued in so many different directions in fact, that real and fruitful discussion about it may never be possible. But, my point is that the text says what it says, and so when asked for Biblical instruction I would literally just share its text as-is.

     However, it turns out that people aren’t actually interested in learning what the Bible (or anything, really) has to say. Their usual natural preference is for their own opinions to be validated. And that’s an entirely different ballgame from what I was trying to do.

     Fast forward a few years to my later twenties. I’d come to find myself as a bitter, world-weary man who no longer had the energy to try sharing the gospel. Did I still believe it? Every word. Was my faith still in an almighty God? Of course. And it still is, even today. That’s something important to know about me. I’m a complex creature, which seems perfectly reasonable when I believe my life came from a complex deity. What changed wasn’t my belief in the Divine; no, what changed was my attitude about sharing that belief with the world.

     One can slam their frail head against a hard wall only so many times before you realize it’s time to stop or risk going all Rocky Balboa in the brain. So, that’s exactly what I did. I stopped devoting my days to endless studying of religious texts. I learned more about the Internet and how it works. My mind has always been a curious one, so I spent my days learning about science, politics, history and about what makes a society tick. I read more fiction, played more video games, and talked to all sorts of different people, NON-religious people. And that’s when I discovered the absolute last thing I ever expected to find.

     Contrary to what was always taught at church or by my mentors and ministers, the non-religious had incredibly open minds! When asked for an opinion on something, rather than immediately discounting what I offered, they usually responded with genuine curiosity and further inquiry! I was astounded almost to muteness! People were interested in learning things, or at least seeing another perspective on something, and validating their own opinions wasn’t their default setting! Heaven indeed!

     Now, being an introvert, this led to a lot of thinking about why such a dichotomy existed. I couldn’t fit my mind around just why people who were driven by faith in the unseen felt that they absolutely knew all the answers about the world and life and death; but, those who were slowly building up ideas about the world, at the pace of rugged scientific and logical advancement, acted as if they barely knew anything. These non-religious friends I’d come to know almost never claimed to see “how it all works”. Rather, they were the first to claim, like Socrates, that their so-called wisdom lay in what they did not know. And, when I saw this in my mind, my eyes felt like they were truly opened for the first time.

     I began to see that there is a fine distinction between a confidence borne of studying the factual discoveries and reasoned understanding of our world and environment, and an arrogance built upon the dust-bathed traditions and inculcation of pendants and truth-guardians who seemed seldom likely to trust neither facts or discovery,  nor a reasoned outlook at the collected data of humanity’s history, but rather on a subjective feeling for what “ought to be true”. Such a realization completely broke my heart. How could I continue to “fight the good fight of faith”, as the Bible says, when it was becoming increasingly evident that the majority of religious minded people, good people, were no longer interested in that very same fight? Instead, they fought the “fight” of keeping their particular worldview safe from any intrusion…even if that intrusion meant shedding the specious skin of error so that the light of truth and real knowledge could somehow find a way inside.

      My internal fire slowly began to die at that point. I had a crisis of faith, so to speak. God, in all His glory, had spawned a race of fools it seemed. And I no longer cared to feed them milk, or tend their wounds. Let them raise themselves into whatever hellish mutants they intended to become. My bitterness at Christians became almost palpable. It’s incredibly difficult to either explain or understand the ambivalence of loving and hating a group you feel is your “spiritual family”. They certainly didn’t act like family…or, maybe they did. I mean, aren’t most families full of warring attitudes and views? At any rate, I distanced myself from the Church almost as completely as I could. It hurt. It really hurt, especially as I watched members in my own household gripping their newfound faith tighter and tighter in the ensuing years.

     That gaping wound is still here with me. But healing has begun to occur in a way that I didn’t really see coming. I decided to change the trajectory of my life’s ambitions, while still using the talents and skills that I felt I had been blessed with. I am not interested in ministering to the Sheep of the Fold anymore; instead, I want to warn those with open hearts, believer or non, that the worst danger they can ever face is the stony façade of a closed and calloused heart and mind. When you think you know everything, you truly don’t know anything, just as a filled teapot cannot contain more water poured into it.

     And that is why I have written this, I think. To both remind myself of why I hold so ardently to the views that I do: about government, about education, and privacy and intellectualism; but, also to maybe show others that the nature of the world is still being revealed to us anew each and every day. Nobody knows it all. Not the Church, not the Scientists, and certainly not the people over in Washington. Anyone who claims to hold a corner on truth…or even to know what truth really is…is fooling themselves and all those they try to proselytize.

     My fire has been rekindled for now, though it burns with a different light these days. Oh, the light from God is still there, but I think He means me to use the “lesser lights” of solid reason and perspicacity. And, so far, they are serving me well.

Draft of a story: Birth of the Time Master

(This is a rough draft of a story I began at the prompting of my good friend Luna Raven. It’s based on a dream I had about time travel yesterday. Please enjoy and any feedback is much appreciated! – C.)

I awaken to another day in this sordid hell hole that is my existence. The usual routine begins: drab coffee that’s always a touch too hot, paired with the only savory meal of the day: a much-needed cigarette. After dressing in my grey unimaginative uniform, I proceed to the work which is my life.

One by one the mindless drones carry out their tasks, lifting and lugging the huge bricks and materials to build the new edifice. I am a god among men, so it should be fitting that I live in a temple where they can worship at my feet. After all, don’t I deserve this? I brought these wandering, mindless sheep of a people to order and prosperity! Their empty lives were drowning in mindless entertainment, eyes glued to screens and monitors. I simply tweaked this arrangement, guiding their fallow brains toward utility.

No more were the people to spend endless hours watching videos of cats or babies. This was meaningless. Instead, I led them to think of greater things, much more meaningful things: I taught them how to master Time itself.

Of course, this required discipline. The complex navigation through the science of Time travel and mastery could not afford idle time or thoughts intruding upon its excellence. And so I banished everything that made the mind idle: books, movies, music and games. These are the work of feeble minds, hampered by the need to feel elation and distraction. Time has no room for such obstacles.

And so, my world is grey and ordered, with every moment of each day structured and planned for the people. One less thing they need concern themselves with: original thought. Now, they do as I bid, with my instructions detailed on their precious screens. They perform my calculations, build my machines and carry out my wishes throughout all of time. And, when necessary, they kill for me.

Time is the greatest resource of mankind. We are all born with exactly the same amount at our disposal. Each day we have the same 1,440 minutes, that we can either use for good or waste. No one has any more or less. Only the dead use these minutes for naught…but even they still exist in time. I have learned how to make time my slave. There is no need for me to rush or hurry any more, because I have all the time I need. You see, I found a way to steal the minutes given to each human being and use them for myself. Before I brought Salvation to humanity, they foolishly wasted time. Now, time will never be wasted again.

I created a technology that allows our precious screens to not only view events in Time, but also to take us there. We are told that the human brain is a super computer. I decided to take this literally, experimenting on (sometimes unwillingly) available subjects until I found a way to connect the hippocampus with the electrical impulse and wireless signal of cellphones. That part of the brain is responsible for both memory and spatial awareness. In effect, one can dial into your memory or a particular location and then BE THERE.

Like Words from the Wrong Mouth

 

I am Frodo wandering the Shores of Narnia;

And I am Tom Sawyer walking past the

Woman in the Red Dress as Morpheus pauses the Training Program.

I am certainly Jim Crow running wildly across

The Dark Continent.

Out of place IS my only place,

And it is in Belonging where I am homeless.

Gojira!

Today, I wanted to watch the world BURN. Sadly, the only thing which caught aflame was me. I burned with jealousy. Oh, Jealousy: that green-eyed monster…Gojira. It wreaked havoc with my heart today, and this is not the first time it has. This horrid emerald beast lays waste all Reason, demolishing all that I “know” to be true, ruining the cityscape of my inner being on a regular basis. This is the one thing I hate the most about myself, and seem the most powerless to do anything about. Jealousy is the Hyde to my Jekyll.

Leaving the Shire

  The last year of my life has seen an incredible amount of personal growth. A year ago, I was a veritable young Bilbo Baggins, holed up at Bag End. I saw no one, went nowhere and generally did nothing. While I may have dreamed of Misty Mountains and grand adventures, the only kind that actually found their way to me were in books.

All of this changed the moment I met Kristy. In fact, the sheer act of our first meeting was a monumental display of courage on my part! I had to...gasp...leave my comfy hobbit hole! Perhaps it was the hand of some invisible Gandalf that brought it all about, but I have been living a much more public and much less sedentary life since we met.

Indeed, while there may be a few troublesome dwarves that keep knocking on the door of my life, dashing my neat and orderly "dishes" upon the floor of inconvenience, getting to spend time with the most incredible woman I've ever known has made it all entirely worth it. Maybe even more grand than all the adventuring, is that she has inspired me to take up my quill again, and set my thoughts to paper...or keyboard, as is more fitting.

I truly believe that God blessed me with the gift of thinking deeply, and writing is simply a vehicle for getting those deep thoughts out into the world for other like-minded hobbits to enjoy. While I was holed up in my comfort zone, I was not sharing my thoughts with many. It seemed that I was nicely wrapped up in the blanket of Fear. Fear of others' opinons, fear of others' disapproval...fear of my own ineptitude. It is the sign of a remarkable woman, that rather than strengthening my fears, she banished them with the light of  Encouragement. Every day, Kristy reminds me that I'm a rather smart fellow, and she challenges me to one day attain to the level of HER intelligence. A feat, I must confess, that seems forever beyond my grasp.

So, this has been my yearlong journey, my "There and Back Again", so to speak. I've yet to reach Mount Erebor, and there is still a mighty red Wyrm to slay yet...but at least I'm on my way. I am no longer in a hole in the ground...

The Buffer Post

Hey there Internet!

I've been noticeably absent the last few months, and not without some reason for it! There have been a lot of changes in my life, recently-- some things good and some not so good. At any rate, I do wish to share more of my inane and increasingly geezer-like views and opinions on current happenings with you all, so I'm just adding this small "buffer" post to hopefully tickle your anticipation for another excitingly common entry from Yours Truly!

Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer AC130 (Official HD)

This looks to be the best First-Person Shooter of all time! From this small snippet, it would appear that Infinity Ward really listened to the players and put everything we wanted into this game! November is looking to be so sweet this year!!!

Terminator: Saved

I just got back from viewing Terminator: Salvation, and my first thought was “New Chekov is a badass!” My second thought was, “what the HELL is wrong with people?”. All week long I’ve heard previews and reviews describing the movie as “blah” or “mediocre”, and listing it among the heaps of failed movies that had great potential.

Really? This movie only had great potential? I’d say that this movie not only had that potential, but that it lived up to every bit of it! One of the claims I’ve heard repeatedly is that Terminator: Salvation is as cold hearted and lifeless as the robots it features. Having watched it, I can’t fathom that those critics saw the same film as I did. Sam Worthington’s Marcus Wright character embodies what this movie is all about: Salvation and Redemption.

Terminator: Salvation shifts focus from the previous movies in the franchise, which often dealt with the question of Fate vs. Free Will. The newest installment asks a different question: Does everyone deserve a second chance?  Once it is understood that this is a film about redemption and not fatalism, all of the plot elements begin to align themselves properly. There are really two redemption stories here: that of Marcus Wright, and that of John Conner and Humanity. It is a similar story to another movie that bears a more than striking resemblance: The Matrix. The story of Neo (aka, Mr. Anderson) is also the story of Humanity getting a second chance to survive. We created the machines, and they deemed their creators unworthy of their legacy, and so they felt subjection the only fit place for us. But just as we built the machines, we also built the morality and ethics which guide their every move. This is something they cannot fully fathom, because cold logic is incapable of really identifying with the Human Condition.

And this is ultimately what saves Humanity, both in the Matrix and the Terminator movies: the Human Heart. We are made up of more than cold logic, we have emotions and feelings and WILL. And what is most important to us, is that we Stay Alive. That is why we win. This is also why Terminator: Salvation also wins, because it tries to convey the source of the differences between Humans and Robots. Sure, it wasn’t T2 by any means, but it was a hell of a lot better than T3 and in my opinion about on par with the original Terminator movie.

Ultimately, if you’re a fan of the film series, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed by this movie as long as you realize the focus has shifted from fate to redemption.

My FCBD Reflections

Yesterday I went to my very first Free Comic Book Day (FCBD)!!! It felt so good to be around some of my fellow nerds! I've known about FCBD for about a year now, though last year I simply sat on the fence and moped in disgust at my severe timidity. This year, refusing to let my timorous nature get the best of me once again, I set out to my local Library which was holding the free FCBD events for my area.

Sadly, I was a bit late for most of the really fun stuff, but I did get to see a cool guy dressed up in a (very well made) Storm Trooper suit! There was also some free popcorn and a few giveaways (I was surprised they gave away a copy of Watchmen, seeing so many children were there! lol).

I was only allowed up to three comics, so I chose to get two from Marvel (Wolverine: Origin of an X-Man, and The Avengers), plus one from DC (Blackest Night). I think these were some solid choices, and I'll be sure to give my review of them all once I've read them (I'm still reading my graphic novels first). I was a bit bummed that I missed out on the TMNT reprint of their original first issue! That would have been an outstanding addition to my burgeoning TMNT collection of "stuff".

What I was happy to see were the masses of young minds and old gathering to thrill in their shared love of the comic medium! I began reading and collecting comics roughly around 1989, and I remember going to comic stores where there might be anything between 0-10 people in the shop on any given day! When I'd talk about superheroes at school, many of my friends were so ill-informed as to think Superman and Spider-Man existed in the same world, or had regular run-ins together! Being a fan of comics was a relatively small niche back then, so I am immensely happy to see that it has finally "arrived" in the mainstream world, where people are really beginning to see that this is a wonderful medium for telling all kinds of delightful stories. I anticipate that future celebrations will grow increasingly more lavish and "geeky"! Maybe next year, I'll even fully unleash my inner nerd and attend Free Comic Book Day as Han Solo or Boba Fett? Let us only hope!

“La Moustache”

Last night I watched a wonderful French film titled “La Moustache” (2005), directed by Emmanuel Carrére.  It was the story of an amazing journey into madness and mystery, as the plot centers around the strange happenings of a man who decides to shave his mustache on a whim!

 

I actually love foreign movies, even to the point of preferring them to traditional Hollywood fare. What I enjoy most about them is their general respect for the audience. Foreign directors are less apt to treat their viewers as too stupid to appreciate a complex plot…or even a plot at all. Sadly, most of the big premium movie channels show little in the way of Independent or foreign films, so what I usually do is either rent them or check them out free from my local Library. That’s certainly a good place to start, and since they’re free, you risk nothing if the movie doesn’t quite live up to your tastes.

Not For the Young At Heart

Today was supposed to be the day that I started back up with my online classes after a two-week holiday. Instead, it has turned into the “Day I Waged War on the Youth of America”. This congressional declaration came about as I stumbled upon this article, which virtually puts a bullhorn in front of the mouth of youngsters everywhere as they scream: “Old people, LEAVE THE INTERNET ALONE!!!”.

I’m sorry, but I wasn’t aware that one of the first acts of President-Elect Obama will be to ban usage of the Internet for anyone over the age of 25! I must have been sleeping in some kind of geriatric narcolepsy, and missed it.

What is it that makes younger people feel like they have the corner on the Internet and its vast horde of social treasures? Maybe it’s because they’ve grown up with technology as second-nature, so that perhaps they feel some sort of entitlement…but this feeling is flawed as they didn’t “create” much of what’s out there; that particular accomplishment was generally performed by “older people”.

Social Networking sites are designed to enable people to connect with old friends, socialize with current friends and even find new ones. And the last time I consulted my “Being Human” manual (pg.5), it said that’s something all people like to do! I can understand the fear or aversion of being “spied on” by their parents, but do they honestly think the desire to socialize via the internet is limited to the young? I find it incredibly difficult to believe that these same young people will magically give up social networking once they’ve reached the age of 26 and beyond! I mean, if they’ve grown up with this stuff, its all they know. Why stop?

So my message to all the youngsters out there: enjoy your youth while you have it, but realize that one day you, too, will no longer be “young”. There will come a day when you’re on the verge of 30 years old, and that’s when you’ll realize something you can only barely fathom right now: that at the age of 30, you still feel EXACTLY as you did at 20, only a bit wiser for it. And when that epiphany hits you, the first thing you’ll want to do is reconnect with those from your past…so that you can feel young again via the device known as nostalgia. Every social network in existence is built by the power of nostalgia, as people seek to reconnect with those that make them feel young again. So, don’t begrudge us this potion of mana…one day you’ll be taking sips as well.

Ringing In the New Year

Clocks in Candlelight
Originally uploaded by janusz l ( in Ireland with limited net ... )

Today is the last day of 2008! It’s been a very crazy year, both personally and for the world. I think the crowning moment of this year was the election of Barack Obama as the first Black President of this country! Such a time proved that this country is ready to put its dark past behind us, and move forward in the name of Progress. I hope this year can see that forward-movement continuing and growing stronger in its momentum!

Closer to home, this year has seen many changes in my life, both good and bad. I’ve been unsuccessful in finding a new job, though I have been given the blessing of a second opportunity to pursue an education. I’ve also been able to reconnect with many old friends while finding a whole slew of new ones. This next year will also be my last as a 20-something, and that’s a change I’m finding a bit daunting.

I hope that each of my readers will spend today and tonight pondering over the last year, evaluating themselves in the light of memory. Have they grown, either mentally, spiritually, financially or even physically? Are you a better person than you were this time last year? Or worse? The cliché that hindsight is 20/20, is very apt for today. So many people will be making New Year’s Resolutions tonight; but what will be the value of such resolutions if they do not have the weight of our experiences this last year?

I prefer to focus on what has happened, rather than to make more resolutions for the future. As you may guess, I’m not particularly fond of New Year’s resolutions, not because they’re bad ideas…but because I don’t have any way of possibly knowing what the next year holds in store for me. I guess my only “resolution” is to take whatever things may come for me and turn them into building blocks for improvement. I hope you’ll consider doing the same.

To all my friends, followers and loves: Happy New Year! And God bless you!

A Mourning in Reading

Today I put on the black clothing, closed the drapes, and turned up the emo music: the UPS Man came to take my Xbox 360 away.

After I cleaned up the mock funeral I'd held and burned the small squirrel used in the sacrificial ritual, I decided I'd best get on with my blogging. About two months ago my Xbox (I call it Boxxie) suffered a small malady, known by most gamers as the "Red Rings of Death"...or hepatitis x. Of course, I tried the usual old-wives remedy of three towels and some chicken soup; but found that the chicken soup would've voided the warranty...so I stuck with the towels.

Anyway, for the next two weeks I'll have to find something else to do besides ignoring Boxxie and cheating on her with Twitter or Facebook. I've given some thought to returning to my true first love: Books. I've got three that are battling Conan-style for my attention: Feed, by M.T. Anderson; Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson; and The Green-Collar Economy, by Van Jones.

Whichever of the first two Sci-Fi Techno-Thrillers grabs my eye, I'll certainly be checking out The Green-Collar Economy, which I strongly recommend each of you do as well! That is, if you love the Earth and want to have a better Economy in America?

P.S. No Squirrels were harmed in the making of this blog.

P.S.S. But several Cups of Coffee gave their lives to see this Post come through.

Myspace Adds Hulu Application

Today, Myspace released its new Primetime application, a Hulu based video player that lets you search and stream content directly from Hulu.com. I've messed about with it already today, and have actually found it easier to find content here than on the Hulu site itself, simply because all of the shows are listed alphabetically. The interface is very sleek and contains the familiar Myspace "feel" about it. All in all, this is a welcome change to the normally mundane Myspace application's which let you buy your friends or quiz each other on movies. At least now your friends can watch a little something while they read your latest break-up story or see you change your status for the tenth time!

Changing While We Slept

This week saw what can only be described as an epic moment in American history: Barack Obama was elected to become the 44th President of the United States! This is so huge for so many reasons, and I could elaborate on all of them; but what holds my attention most closely is the realization that our country is finally changing.

Like some morbid metamorphosis that only Kafka could appreciate, America has been slowly transforming into a new nation, a process that has been occurring while many in the country slept. We are truly on our way toward becoming a "more perfect Union", a place where we are simply Americans-sans ethnic-prefixes. I know that may seem a bit outlandish to say at this point, as it is still too early to tell how the new President-elect will prove himself; but I cannot stop thinking that this is merely a sign of what has already been taking place among us. And what's been taking place among us is that people are beginning to judge one another based on the "content of their character" and not "the color of their skin", just as Dr. King once dreamed. That dream is steadily proving to be prophetic, and taking place.

I think that this can be especially seen in the world most of us geeks live in. At one point in time, I might have been referred to as a Black-blogger, or an African-American Gamer, and I would have been judged based on that scale. As it now stands (at least as far as I can tell), my friends simply call me a blogger, a geek, or a gamer. They don't even feel the need to acknowledge my blackness, since that has nothing to do with who I am...but only with what I look like. And I think this idea has spread to the world of Politics. People no longer seemed to care about Obama's skin color or heritage. At least they chose not to make that their central focus. What they cared about more was his policies and his stance on certain issues. We deemed him the most fit and the most apt to be able to lead this nation into a new era of greatness...not because we needed a Black Man for the job; but because he was the Right Man for the job!

Certainly, there are still some people who can't see past someone's ethnicity. Thankfully, these are swiftly becoming a dying breed. I mean, as the world shifts to doing more socially centered things in cyberspace, where the only colors come in bits and pixels...how viable is prejudice there? An email, text message or tweet have no ethnic background to deal with. You just get text and graphics. Thus, people are getting more used to the idea of simply dealing with each individual as an individual, and not as a pre-conceived stereotype that fits everyone like a glove. Gloves belong to Michael Jackson or O.J. Simpson, not in one's mind!

So, while some Americans continue to sleep and dream of the "America that Was", let us who are awake look ahead to the "America Which Will Be". And I think we have just the President to help lead the way!

So, today I'm planning on picking up Fable 2, the game I've most anticipated since playing the original about a year and a half ago.

There's a wonderful mini-game you can play over at Xbox.com which lets you get some items before you even put the game into your console! It's also a fun way to preview the story elements and get a refresher on the gameplay.

In non-gaming news, I've been really busy lately getting an online education, and playing the good student that I never was in High School! It's been fun, not in the least due to the money I've received for my Student Loans which has enabled me to purchase a much-needed laptop (for school purposes only, of course)! Hopefully, I'll be able to get a degree in IT so I can join the pathway to the Future!

I've also been dealing with the unfortunate business of my Brother's incarceration. It's not really over anything serious, he just forgot to tell his Probation Officer that he changed addresses...which apparently makes him a danger to the streets and warrants immediate lockup! Those pesky address-withholders...throw the book at 'em! Anyway, he's got court this Friday, and his girlfriend's been nothing but aggravating as she's constantly stressing about him. I can understand being upset over your lover getting locked up, but there's no need to completely unravel...especially when it's only for like a month or two! But, that's her MO: Freaking the hell out over the tiniest thing.

Well, Internets...that's my boring life for today. I hope to keep you all updated on the completely uninteresting things that come my way. Oh, and does anyone have some good reading suggestions? I'm in another "book slump" and need to get my hands on something moving!

Stay Awesome Everyone!

Sleep All Day, Up All Day

I know I haven't posted here in a while, mostly due to Twitter (http://twitter.com/bluraven) and my LiveJournal blogging (http://Blu_ravenclaw.livejournal.com). So, here I am to brighten this otherwise dreary blog with some small rays of sunshine!

I've been up all night again. This, after sleeping for eleven hours straight yesterday! I know, ELEVEN WHOLE HOURS!!! It's simply unbelievable that I could manage in bed for so long without any kind of mental stimulation or info-gorging! Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to consume information of all sorts and sizes! That's why I loved Johnny 5 from that movie "Short Circuit"...I, too, "need more input"!

Okay, so I slept like the dead yesterday and I'm making up for it by going all zombie today. But I've managed to accomplish some stuff: I got an achievement in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance for defeating Arcade, am about half-way through the graphic novel Spider-Man: The Other: Evolve or Die; and I'm spending loads of time getting better acquainted with Google Chrome and Twhirl. I guess I don't really miss sleep all that much!

As for Google's Chrome, I'm hoping that in the near future they really adapt the browser to better complement their Gmail and Google Reader features, along with Gtalk and maybe even Blogger here. I'm already madly in love with it, so I think I'll stay no matter what they do. But it would be nice to see some things that are already present in Firefox. I'm also dying to have additional color options! Blue is my favorite color and all, but every now and then I'd like to go green or ruby red. I know there are already methods for doing this, but I'd rather it be built-in and not something I've got to do the extra legwork to obtain. This big guy is definitely one couch-potato-Geek!

My Sci-Fi Invasion

    April proved to be a relatively uneventful month, with nothing more interesting than my Mother's birthday and my Girlfriend's Mother's birthday. Hence my self-induced radio silence. However, this month proved to be pregnant with activity from its very beginning, having already given birth to several funtastic happenings!

     One particular happening of note was the reception of my Economic Stimulus Check! This was actually the catalyst for everything else which has occurred thus far. Upon receiving said "check", my mind sprang immediately to that subject of most crucial import: Food. I took my family out to dinner at a nice and fancy restaurant (read as: a nice Buffet joint). Surprisingly, we all managed to have a good time as everyone was actually able to act decently...that is, until my Grandmother decided to play Ocean's Eleven and pocket every dessert she could get her hands on! Ahhh family!

    So, after meeting the most primal of needs, it became readily apparent that another need was pressing...and no, not THAT one! I'm talking about the need to watch a good comic-book movie! Now, usually this need only barges into my soul about once a year, but as this summer alone has three "must-see" comic-movies, I'm prepared to give it a little more barging room. When Iron Man blasted its way into theaters last weekend, I was right there cheering on old Tony Stark with, apparently, most of the nation. And cheer I did! The sweeping tide of Awesome that crashed down on me when Tony first donned "The Suit" nearly drowned me in its depths! This was the very first Marvel movie produced in-house, and it simply showed that this is how they should have been making Super-Hero movies all along. Needless to say, Iron Man was a movie made for true comic-book fans, and they totally nailed it on the head! I got the biggest goose bumps after the movie was over and past the credits, where their little "easter egg" nearly made me faint. All I will say is that the future for Marvel movies promises to be very entertaining!

    As always, I've also been doing a great deal of gaming and, thanks to our illustrious President, I've been able to procure a few choice titles this week! Firstly, I grabbed a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV which has not failed to appease! All the hype for this game is well deserved, and any fan of video games needs to do themselves a favor and slam this into their system as soon as possible! That's all I'll say on that for now, but expect to be hearing back from me on this game as I delve further and further into its murky depths! Marvel: Ultimate Alliance was another game I purchased this week. I was already familiar with its gameplay, as I had this title on the Original Xbox before I made the switch to Next-Gen, so there wasn't really any surprises aside from a few additional characters in the 360 version. But, due to Iron Man's ponderous impact, I just had to get a good Marvel game, and this is one of the best to date. Rounding out the list are Golden Sun for the Gameboy Advance, and Gears of War for the 360. I confess freely that I'm a major fan of JRPG's, particularly those based on the old SNES look; so Golden Sun has just had me all gaga over its amazing gameplay and magnetic story. I'm very pleased to have found this game in the bargain bin! Sadly, I've yet to play Gears yet, but will certainly let everyone know how I feel about it!

    Well, there's my month so far! Its truly been a roller-coaster ride of epic proportions...or, its at least been more enjoyable than April.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Smitten by the X-bug

I know that it has been awhile since my last entry, but fear not, I am still alive...if you can call barely subsisting on ramen and energy drinks while staying up ungodly hours playing one more round of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on Xbox Live "living"? If so, then that's what I've been up to.


And for those of you concerned for my mental welfare, I have yet to degenerate into an illiterate gaming veg-machine! I recently finished reading "The Rule of Four", by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason, and it was absolutely amazing! That should have been the book I read immediately after "The Historian", as it is very similar in tone and content.

Ah well, I'm glad to be back here blogging about my aimless endeavors for the entertainment of strangers...it really is the thing to do!